Canon EOS 500D (Digital Rebel T1i / Kiss X3 Digital) Review

Compared to...

The market place in the 'budget DSLR' sector is more crowded than it ever was before. While a couple of years ago the predecessors of these cameras were the most 'entry level' offerings of Canon, Nikon and Olympus respectively now all the manufacturers offers cameras below these new models (EOS 1000D, D60, E-450) giving consumers a lot of choice and making the process of buying an 'entry level' camera even more confusing.

Despite of this the truth is that the differences between cameras are narrowing all the time. There are maybe 4 or 5 direct competitors to the EOS 500D but for the purpose of this studio comparison we've limited the the field to a slightly more manageable two; the new Olympus E-620 and Nikon D5000. For any potential upgraders we've also included the the EOS 500D's predecessor, the EOS 450D.

Let's start with a quick look at how the competitors line up, including those mentioned above (plus the Sony A350 which is Sony's most obvious 500D competitor, but has just been replaced by the A380 which is not yet available in the shops):

Camera

Kit
price

Live
view

LCD

Anti
Shake

Sensor (effective pixels)

Canon EOS 500D

$895

Yes

3.0" / 920k pixels

Lens option

15.1 MP CMOS (1.6x crop)

Nikon D5000

$800

Yes

2.7" / 230k pixels

Lens option

12.3 MP CMOS (1.5x crop)

Olympus E-620

$700

Yes

2.7" / 230k pixels

In-body

12.3 MP LiveMOS (2.0x crop)

Canon EOS 450D

$700

Yes

3.0" / 230k pixels

Lens option

12.2 MP CMOS (1.6x crop)

(Sony DSLR-A350)

$650

Yes

2.7" / 230k pixels

In-body

14.2 MP CCD (1.5x crop)

For a number of years, at least partly due to the lack of competition, Canon's Rebel cameras were the obvious choice for anyone looking to buy their first DSLR. Market conditions are much more difficult these days with all of the major manufacturers trying to secure their slice of the 'entry level' pie and Canon engineers are certainly under more pressure with each new model to design something that's ahead of the competition in order to keep the Rebel line in a front position.

On paper it looks as if they've managed to do quite a good job at that once again. The EOS 500D offers the highest resolution in class (15.1MP), 1080P video (albeit only at 20fps, you get 720P at 30fps though), a very nice high resolution 3.0 inch screen (920,000 pixels) and a higher maximum sensitivity than the competition (ISO 12800). As usual though it is located pretty high up on the price scale as well. Nikon and Olympus offer smaller bodies with arguably better ergonomics but fewer megapixels and 'only' 720P video (Nikon) or no video option at all (Olympus). Both cameras come with smaller, lower resolution screens than the Canon too (the Nikon's is of the tilting kind though).

Below you find a detailed comparison table of the competitors. Keep reading on the following pages to find out how all these figures and specifications translate into image quality.

This is a great little camera for point and shoot photography. We try to keep easy to use cameras around for family, etc. so we don;t have to lug our big pro DSLRs everywhere. With a kit lens, it’s hard to beat.

More about gear in this article

Canon has unveiled the EOS 500D (Digital Rebel T1i), the latest addition to its compact DSLR series. The upper-entry-level camera features a 15.1 MP APS-C CMOS sensor with 1080p HD video recording at 20fps. It also offers a 3.0 inch LCD with 920,000 dot resolution and an ISO sensitivity range expandable up to 12800 equivalent. It includes a faster Digic 4 processor offering better noise reduction at higher ISO's and continuous shooting speeds of up to 3.4 fps delivering 170 large JPEG images in a single burst.

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